Wet Wet Wet / Picture This / 4-disc super deluxe edition box set

I agree with everyone here and was very frustrated when I found out that the TV Mix is “Love Is All Around” is not readily available. It’s the version they used on the music video. I believe the intro is different (don’t quote me on that) and there is no fade at the end. It runs approximately 4:12 and the single/album mix fades at 3:59. If I remember correctly, the music video is on the Four Weddings and A Funeral movie as an extra feature. I had the VHS of it and the video was at the end. There are promo only cds and singles that you can find the TV Mix on…and I think it received an initial released somewhere in the UK or France…a cd single with that version on it. Best way to tell is look at the running time of the song. I’ve even seen a 12″ from France that I believe has the TV Mix on it. I personally have it on a DJ only compilation from 1994. Why that version (which is better in my opinion) was not released to easily be found is beyond me. Hope my comment on this years later helps someone out.

Why start with a later album, why not Popped In, Souled Out?
That is in dire need of a remaster, this one doesn’t really need to be remastered, expanded yes maybe. but they failed in putting all the B-sides & mixes on it, And i bet Love is all around is not the TV Mix just the Single/Album version. and why not release the DVD Bluray instead?
and Love is all around Which video is it? Band or Movie? should be both for the Price. Please don’t fail when the older albums get a Deluxe release.

I was a Wet3 fanatic up until the end of the High on the Happy Side Era and then I just plain stopped like a lot of people did when work, marriage and life get in the way and that creates the eternal problem. If you are going to invest money as a label into an SDE why go for the later less popular (but possibly better) albums. Get the cash cow in early and use the money made to invest in the later stuff. If they had done this chronologically and done 1, 2 & 3 (the ones that sold) they would have made buckets and the figures would be high and they could then do 4 & 5. What it might also do is actually increase sales of the 4 & 5 SDE by dragging some people along who bought 1,2 & 3. As it is most wet fans had sloughed off by 1995 and only Love is all Around saved what would have been an unremarkable album from being ignored by all but the most ardent fan. So why oh why start here? It doesn’t make sense. I could pick 20 best selling artists (70s/80s) with a 4 plus album roster and they would pretty much all be mad to start with an SDE of their later albums. I can only think this happens when an artist is too involved in the projects (what do they know, they always think the latest thing they have done is their best work), or they spend too long looking at the fan club forums with the die hards. As a Kate Bush fan I think The Dreaming (4th album) is her best album but EMI / Fish People would be mad to start from there.

I wonder whether this is label sabotage in some cases.

It’s not the point whether a remix can ruin a song. The “now” remixes or actually alternate versions (it’s another song strictly speaking) from about 2000 and on ruined the original songs (mostly)! But what we (80’s/90’s remixes collectors/lovers) had bought those vinyl 7″/12″, we liked of what we heard, and now when there’s a chance (10th, 15th, 20th, etc ann.) we hope to get those back to listen to them again as most of us don’t even have a turntable anymore. We’re just holding on to our vinyl 7″/12″ hoping one day we will get those again.

@Christophe, I’m not an expert of Wet Wet Wet, especially their later works. So I appraeciate your more in-depth comment ;)
I didn’t find my Love is all around CD single. I vaguely remember. I was hoping to get the TV Mix/Karaoke/Instrumental of it. Back I believed record company messed it up & used a vocal version instead. So you might be right tgat there were no difference. I hope they have the real TV Mix in the vault then :D

Popped In Deluxe please incl. all remixes!

It’s not as simple as “b-sides and remixes are AWOL and we get boring live versions instead…”

In fact, at this point in their career most of the Wets b-sides were live versions…

************ Tracks taken from CD singles

Tracks 1, 4 & 5 from the second CD are from “Love Is All Around” CD singles,
Tracks 3 from CD 2, and tracks 1 & 19 from CD 3 are from “Julia Says” CD singles,
Tracks 2, 3 & 5 from the third CD are from “Don’t Want to Forgive Me Now” CD singles,
Tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 from the second CD are from “Somewhere Somehow” CD singles,
Tracks 11 & 12 from CD 2, and tracks 15, 16, 17 & 18 from CD 3 are from “Morning” CD singles,
Track 13 from CD2 is taken from a 4-track CD promo “The Little Picture”.

(“She’s All on My Mind” CD singles were only filled with songs taken from a previous cover album, “Cloak & Dagger”)

************ Previously Unreleased Tracks

5 demo versions on the second disc (tracks 14 to 18),
9 tracks from a BBC Hippodrome show on the third disc (tracks 6 to 14).

There is also a version of “Julia Says” recorded live at BBC Radio 1 – 1995/03/27 (CD 3, track 4).

************ Sadly missing tracks

So what is really missing from the era?

“I Don’t Want to Know”, from “Julia Says” CD single, (THAT is the real shame !)

“Love Is All Around (live at BBC Radio 1 – 1995/03/17)”, from “Don’t Want to Forgive Me Now” CD single (looks like it’s been dropped in favour of the “Julia Says” rendition from the same show… Why?),

“Gypsy Girl (live from Manchester Arena – 1995/07/25)”, from “Somewhere Somehow” CD single,

There are other tracks missing, but they may only very slightly differ from the album version, or may just be a version with a different title :
“Love Is All Around (TV Mix)” (is it really a different version?),
“I Can Give You Everything (Soul Mix)” (same as the “House Mix”, and whether it’s labelled 7″ or 12″ it’s always 4:24),
“Julia Says (Synth String Version)” and “Somewhere Somehow” (Synth String Version)”,
“Morning (96 Remix)”, does anybody know if it is the same as the “Youth 95 Mix” ?

I hope this listing helps you to decide whether you want or not to buy this set…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have truly jumped the SDE shark. A four-disc set of an album that’s filled up the charity shops for years, bloated up with live material.

I like WWW, I’d probably buy 2CD editions of their first few albums, but this?! Surreal.

I agree CJ…a good live recording can be amazing! IMO 90% of remixes can ruin an album track and be mind numbingly boring. There are exceptions but…you know what I mean.

Have to disagree with the commentators here and on the Phil Collins thread, live recordings from many artists are preferable to quota-quickie remixes in most cases. Wet Wet Wet had a good appreciation of the history of soul music, and the live tracks here have a good amount of well chosen cover versions. I think that WWW have more control over their live sets than they do over their remixes and the live material, thirty years later, is where you see the “real” band.

What is it with all this live stuff on these box sets? I hate live recordings and even people who don’t mind them only listen to them once.
Maybe it is a cheap way of filling a CD?

Dear Phil and dear Garbage,
I know it can be improved, but the Wets reissue is way, way better than yours. I know, the Wets !!!
I feel so sorry for you both !

All the live stuff is seriously disappointing. What about the remixes? No thanks, not for me. Again, a wasted opportunity to give fans what they want. Why 2 live discs if there are remixes available? Pfff….

agree with Griffin. To much live stuff (again…)

I’d like to see their first & second album in super deluxe edition with all the mixes. From this album I only liked the 2 singles Love is all around & Julia says. I bought the 2 CD singles back then with:
Love is all around TV Mix,
I can give you everything 12″ House Mix by Arthur Baker &
Julia says Synth String Version by Bob Clearmountain.

All of these are not here. Instead it’s with almost 2 CD’s Live stuff, not my thing. I’ll pass! Record companies really have no clue of what the fans want. They chose the album(s) with no/less unreleased on CD tracks/mixes so they can put lots of live stuff on!?!? If they went for Popped in souled out or Holding back the river with all the unreleased or vinyl on remixes on them. They will sell a lot of them ;)

I’m surprised they haven’t had their older albums remastered and reissued. They’re past due, aren’t they?